Monday, June 10, 2013

Circuit Bench of CESTAT very soon at Hyd

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry have strongly requested and demanded for appellate bench of Excise and Service Tax at Hyderabad. At present assesses from Andhra Pradesh are going to Bangalore and are finding is difficult to appear at Bangalore.

The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry have also offered the FAPCCI premises for locating the bench till other arrangements are made.

Hon’ble Justice Mr G. Raghuram, President, CESTAT, New Delhi his address expressed his happiness to be with trade and industry of Andhra Pradesh today. Responding to the request of FAPCCI to setup a CESTAT Bench at Hyderabad, the Lordship announced that Circuit Bench will be constituted very soon at Hyderabad for the benefit of Assessees in Andhra Pradesh and the President of CESTAT will sit on the bench. Before this year end the CESTAT will start their bench at Hyderabad. At present there is a demand for four benches at different places, but presently CESTAT decided to start three benches inclusive of Hyderabad bench.

Mr Devendra Surana, President, FAPCCI in his Welcome Address conveyed his best wishes to Hon’ble Justice for his tenure at CESTAT, New Delhi.

He also had drawn the attention of the Hon’ble President to the Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013. The scheme was proposed with a view to mop up collections, to bring more assessees on record and also to reduce the litigation. This is a noble endeavor and we as a Chamber welcome it. However, there is a bit of lacuna in the said Scheme. Under the Scheme non-filers and stop filers are being granted amenity. While the objective of the Amnesty Scheme is to cover persons who have neither disclosed the Service Tax Payable nor paid the tax so as to widen the tax base, we request that the objective of the Scheme be extended to reduce litigation by including even cases where proceedings have been commenced by issuance of a notice or investigation/audit has been initiated or Service Tax paid at variance with the returns filed but adjudication has not yet taken place. By extending the Scheme as mentioned, it will reduce a lot of litigation and also the burden on the existing Benches.

Mr S. Thirumalai, Advisor, Indirect Taxes Committee, FAPCCI in his introductory Remarks stated that specifically to the interface of the trade and industry in Andhra Pradesh, the Federation would like to reiterate its plea for a permanent bench of the Tribunal to be set up in Hyderabad. We cannot have a more appropriate occasion to reiterate the request before the Hon’ble Justice for a strong recommendation for this cause. The necessity for this is substantiated by the change that has occurred in the last decade or more ever since Andhra Pradesh was attached to Bangalore (Karnataka) Bench of the CESTAT. The Hon’ble Minister for IT and ITES in the Government of Andhra Pradesh had made a strong plea to the then Union Finance Minister and now the Hon’ble President of India showing how the absence of a quasi judicial body in Andhra Pradesh by way of Bench of the CESTAT has added to the owes of the industry that has strong roots and is a major contributor to the State GDSP.